Al Nasr 2 Al Jazira 4
Al Nasr Ahmed 45', Toure 76'
Al Jazira Vucinic 48', 55', Pitroipa 63', 80'
Man of the match Mirko Vucinic (Al Jazira)
DUBAI // As so often has been the case this season, Mirko Vucinic came through for Al Jazira when his club needed him the most.
The Montenegrin was signed last summer as the capital club sought to transform themselves into genuine contenders for the Arabian Gulf League title; the big-money acquisition with the reputation to match.
He has continued to repay the investment.
Vucinic’s latest contribution was a match-winning display against Al Nasr on Sunday evening, just as his side’s championship ambitions appeared to be fading long into the Dubai night.
A goal down to Tariq Ahmed’s strike during first-half stoppage time, Jazira seemed set to suffer a decisive blow in the season-long race.
Al Ain, the league leaders, had earlier increased their advantage over their Abu Dhabi rivals to seven points, meaning anything less than victory would have left Jazira with little hope of catching them.
But Vucinic did what he has all campaign, and within seven second-half minutes he had scored twice to spin the encounter completely on its head.
Eventually emerging 4-2 winners – Vucinic assisted the fourth, too – with six rounds to play, Jazira could yet conclude the campaign with its ultimate prize.
His goal tally increased to 23 in this most spectacular of debut seasons – presumably, there are more to come – Vucinic would deserve a large portion of the praise.
“He’s important not only because of the goals he scores, but because of his presence on the pitch,” said Eric Gerets, the Jazira coach.
“You can count on him in difficult moments – he’s a big personality inside the pitch and outside it.”
Gerets would not let the opportunity pass without paying compliments to his entire attack.
Jonathan Pitroipa will attract his share of the plaudits, thanks to his goals either side of Ibrahima Toure’s strike for Nasr, but the Burkina Faso winger was ably assisted by the ever-industrious Ali Mabkhout and Manuel Lanzini.
Carrying a constant goal threat, it should not be surprising that Jazira represent Al Ain’s greatest threat in the quest for the league title. They face bottom club Kalba next, on April 3, although Gerets still recommends caution.
“We have to win our games and hope Al Ain will lose some,” he said.
“But our priority is the next match. We must be careful against Kalba because we know this team have nothing to lose.
“We’ve shown in the past against smaller teams we’ve lost a lot of points.
“We cannot afford to make any mistakes. That is why we have to win our games and see what the enemy does in the future.”
Al Nasr v Al Jazira report card
Star performer – Mirko Vucinic (Al Jazira) Had a quiet first half but came to life in the second. The first of his two goals was a peach, while he also assisted the fourth.
Underperformer – Ahmed Shambiah (Al Nasr) A little harsh on the keeper, but he should have kept Vucinic's 55th-minute strike from squirming under his body.
Key moment Vucinic's goal just after half time. With his side trailing, he latched onto Abdullah Mousa's long ball, raced clear of the Nasr defence and lobbed a half-volley over Shambiah.
Al Nasr rating 6/10 Excelled in the first 45 minutes but were caught cold after the break. Defensive lapses cost them dearly.
Al Jazira rating 7/10 Rallied from sluggish first-half performance with excellent link-up play as the match wore on.
Our verdict Jazira dug deep to keep alive their championship hopes. Much credit will go to Vucinic, but the whole attack played its part. For Nasr, Ibrahima Toure's awful miss towards the end summed up their second-half display.
Al Ain score five unanswered goals
Al Ain maintained their lead at the top of the Arabian Gulf League with a 5-1 win at Emirates on Sunday.
Coach Zlatko Dalic’s side recovered from an early setback as the hosts stunned the league leaders with a goal inside the opening minute through Mohammed Malalla.
Al Ain quickly hit back with a fifth-minute equaliser from Rashid Essa before they went ahead through thanks to a strike from centre-back Ismail Ahmed.
Ibrahim Diaky, Essa and Mohammed Ahmad scored after the break to put the gloss on a result fit for the would-be champions.
Elsewhere, Al Ahli defeated Al Dhafra 1-0, courtesy of an early strike from Ossama Assaidi.
Al Dhafra were reduced to 10 men after 68 minutes as goalkeeper Abdulla Sultan was shown a straight red card, but Al Ahli could not take advantage and add any further goals.
In the capital, two goals from Sebastian Tagliabue and one by Amer Omar gave Al Wahda a 3-0 win over Ajman.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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